A high altitude rum raisin apple butter cake, made with homemade apple butter. This cozy fall cake is moist, studded with plump raisins and flavored with dark spiced rum, and the fluffy buttercream is spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. For a beautiful presentation, I decorated the cake with fresh apple slices, chopped walnuts, and star anise.
Looking for more holiday recipes? You’ll love this brown butter pumpkin cake, apple cider layer cake with maple buttercream, and baked gingerbread doughnuts.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Cozy Fall Flavors. What could be better on a chilly fall day than warm flavors like spiced apple butter, brown sugar, rum and raisins in a delicious cake? This cake is sort of the apple version of a carrot cake, which is another of my favorites in the fall.
Easy to Make. This is a “whisk and bake” kind of cake, which is the easiest to make. You don’t need to cream the butter and sugar, simply whisk together the dry ingredients, whisk in the liquid ingredients and bake. This rum raisin apple butter cake is so moist and flavorful, and just delicious with the spiced vanilla buttercream.
Perfect for a Holiday. This would make a wonderful cake to serve for a Thanksgiving or Halloween celebration.
High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet, so mountain bakers can make my recipes with confidence.
See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.
Ingredients
Cake
- All-Purpose Flour. Creates a structured cake batter.
- Dark Brown Sugar. Adds sweetness, moisture, and a hint of molasses flavor.
- Baking Soda. Leavens the cake, making it rise.
- Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness.
- Apple Butter. Adds flavor, moisture and spice. Try making your own homemade apple butter, or just buy a jar the next time you’re at the grocery store.
- Vegetable Oil. Adds moisture.
- Whole Milk. For moisture and richness.
- Spiced Rum. Adds flavor. Be sure to use a dark spiced rum, not a white rum. Although the alcohol bakes off, for an alcohol-free version, substitute the rum with water.
- Eggs. Adds richness and structure.
- Vanilla Extract. Flavor.
- Raisins. A delicious textural contrast to the soft cake.
Buttercream
- Butter. I use unsalted butter, but if you use salted, just omit the extra salt in the recipe.
- Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the buttercream.
- Meringue Powder. Adds stability and improves the texture.
- Spices. Salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and vanilla extract add the most wonderful flavor to complement the cake.
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and spray the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans with non-stick baking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, apple butter, oil, milk, rum, eggs and vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients, and whisk just until combined, then fold in the raisins.
- Divide the batter between the pans. Bake on the center oven rack for about 20-22 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean.
- Set the pans on a cooling rack, cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute. With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar, meringue powder, salt, spices and vanilla and mix to combine.
- Beat for 4-5 minutes on medium high speed until very light and fluffy. Only add the milk if needed for desired consistency.
- Fill, stack and frost the cooled cakes with the buttercream.
Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.
Frequently Asked Questions
How should I store the leftover cake?
Leftover rum raisin apple butter cake should be stored in an airtight container or cake carrier at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Can I make this recipe with the rum or the raisins?
Yes, for just an apple butter cake without alcohol or raisins, simply leave out the raisins and replace the rum with water.
How should I adjust the recipe for a 6-inch cake?
For a three layer 6-inch cake, you can cut the recipe in half. The cake layers will bake for about the same time as the 8-inch layers.
Will the apple slices on top turn brown?
Yes, something to keep in mind if decorating the cake as shown in today’s photos is that fresh apple slices do turn brown when exposed to air. To decorate your cake as I did, wait until you’re ready to serve the cake. Then cut the apples and lightly brush the apple slices with lemon juice. Arrange the apples, chopped walnuts and star anise on the cake for a lovely presentation. You will need to remove everything from on top of the cake before cutting it, and of course, no one will want to eat the star anise, although it makes a beautiful decoration.
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High Altitude Rum Raisin Apple Butter Cake
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Paddle Attachment
Ingredients
Cake
- 3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 ½ cups dark brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1 ½ cups apple butter
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ⅔ cup whole milk
- ¼ cup dark spiced rum
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup raisins
Buttercream
- 2 cups unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp meringue powder, optional
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp ground cloves
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2-4 tbsp milk or cream, only if needed
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and spray the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans with non-stick baking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, apple butter, oil, milk, rum, eggs and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients, and whisk just until combined, then fold in the raisins.
- Divide the batter between the pans. Bake on the center oven rack for about 20-22 minutes, until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean.
- Set the pans on a cooling rack, cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely.
Buttercream
- In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute. With the mixer on low, add the powdered sugar, meringue powder, salt, spices and vanilla and mix to combine.
- Beat for 4-5 minutes on medium high speed until very light and fluffy. Only add the milk if needed for desired consistency.
- Fill, stack and frost the cooled cakes with the buttercream.
- Note: If decorating the cake with fresh apple slices, as shown in the photos, wait until you're ready to serve the cake. Then cut the apples, lightly brush the apple slices with lemon juice and arrange on the cake with chopped walnuts and star anise. Remove all the decorations before cutting and serving the cake.
This cake is delicious, but I am curious…your photos look like a 6″ cake, yet the recipe says 8″ cake pans. Just wondering if I would need to make 6″ cakes to get this look.
You’re correct, I test my recipes multiple times in different sizes of pans, and the photographed cake is half the recipe baked in 6 inch pans.
Thanks, Heather. We really enjoyed this cake, a welcome change for an apple butter cake, rather than the standard stack cake often made in the South! Also I live at about 1200′ and had no problems with this recipe. Your photography and recipes are top notch! Thank you for sharing your beautiful work, it is so inspiring!
I’m going to bake this today. If I want to use 6” pans can I divide the batter into 4 6” pans or do you recommend using 8? How long did you bake this for in 6” pans?
You can use the full cake recipe for 8 inch pans, or half the recipe for 6 inch pans. I divided the batter between 3 pans, and the 6 inch and 8 inch cakes bake for about the same amount of time. If you’re making thinner cake layers in 4 pans, you’ll bake them for a few minutes less.